Salford Lads’ and Girls’ Club has collaborated with SEVEN BRO7HERS BREWING CO to celebrate its 120th birthday with a limited-edition lager.
A takeover of the brewery’s popular Helles Lager showcases Salford Lads’ Club’s historic building and its iconic front doors – and is available for a short time via SEVEN BRO7HERS webshop.
The beer can was designed by seventeen-year-old Jess Eckersley, the granddaughter of club member and volunteer Archie Swift, who was involved with the club for 76 years and sadly passed away aged 88 in April 2023.
Archie joined the club in 1946 aged twelve and attended his first Salford Lads Club camping trip in 1946 – his final camp trip was in 2010 as a volunteer. A key figure at the club, he ran both football and rugby teams and eventually became a trustee. In 2006, he was awarded an MBE for his lifetime of work in the community.
The brewery will be donating £1.50 from the sale of each can to the club so they can continue their great work and celebrate its members and volunteers.
The Salford-based brewery also has a personal connection to the club, with their late father Eric McAvoy and brother number six, Kit McAvoy being members.
Established in 1903 as a purpose-built club for boys, Salford Lads Club was the last and largest of 21 clubs in Greater Manchester aiming to provide positive alternatives to teenage street gangs, known as “scuttlers”, in the poorest areas of the city.
The club was officially opened by Lord Baden Powell in 1904 and has continued to provide facilities for young people and the community for the last 120 years. It is now considered to be the ‘finest example of a pre-First World War lads’ clubs’ surviving and operating today.
Still an active youth club for children and young people in Salford, and the club opened to girls in 1994. The site is also a mecca for music fans due to a famous photo of The Smiths taken outside the club by Stephen Wright in 1987.
Charlotte Clemo from Salford Lads’ and Girls’ Club said: “We’re really pleased to be able to work with SEVEN BRO7HERS and are grateful for their support.
“We were proud to offer Jess the opportunity to honour her grandad and hone her creative skills. Sales from the beer will support the place she and her grandad have so passionately supported for many years, to continue our work in the community.”
